Costume for a New Year

I'm finally back.  I took a much needed break over the holidays.  Using some of my vacation time, I spent time with family and friends, made Christmas presents and rested. Work and wedding planning have been my focus this week but I'm back in the swing now. We hosted a New Year's Eve party at our house for a few friends.  This year we decided to have an 80's themed party.  Everyone dressed as their favorite 80's icon.  We listened to a fantastic 80's playlist, compiled by my friend and music maestro Carl and even drank Bartles and James wine coolers. I decided to dress as Madonna.  I knew I had a few pieces I could use but I wanted to buy some new ones that I could wear after the party and into 2013.

1) Contrast Moto Jacket - F21, Leggings - Torrid, Rhinestone Necklace - F21 (no longer available online), Bangle Sets - Nordstrom Rack and Bloomingdales, Sam Edelman Peyton (no longer available, similar here) - Nordstrom Rack

 
My friends at Potomac Mills Mall invited me to come to the mall and shop in the Fashion District.  They have great stores like Nordstrom Rack, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Forever 21, Torrid, Bloomingdales, and TJ Maxx. They gave me a gift certificate to use during my shopping adventure.  I was thrilled to shop in some of my favorite stores.  You've read about my amazing finds from Nordstrom Rack and NM Last Call. It was so hard to choose my items. It was sensory overload and I kept finding all sorts of other great items. Staying focused was hard. I knew I wanted to get some great pieces that I could wear over and over and I had to keep my eye on the goal.

This is a photo heavy post. You can see and read more after the jump.

Fall 2012 Runway Trends - Leather

As I'm writing this post, I just realized that all of the leather items I chose are black (well one is gray).  I love leather and faux leather but I have a special love for black leather.  I think it's the fact that I equate leather to toughness, rockers, and bikes (motorcycles not the kind you pedal).  Black leather is sexy, it's rich and it's bad ass.  Colored leather is fantastic, in fact I own several items that are colored leather and colored suede, not counting shoes.  You don't need a Harley to wear leather.  You can do it in a sophisticated way, with a pencil skirt or a peplum top.  If you don't want to do a full leather piece, go for leather trim on a coat or jacket.

Click on the collage above for buying details

If you aren't a fan or real leather, there are so many fantastic faux leather options.  Most of the items above are faux leather.  They look great and they are less expensive than real leather.  Even if you're more ladies that lunch than lady rocker, you can make leather work for you.  A leather (faux leather) skirt is on my list of must buys this season. What's on your list?